<p>Hi everyone! For an engineering major, I've narrowed my choices down to University of Rochester and WPI, but since they're such polar opposites, I need some help! Here's what I've got:</p>
<p>-WPI-</p>
<p>+More merit aid (16k/yr)
+Free overseas scholarship
+Unique, project-based, in-depth learning style
+Fun, quirky, inspiring, free-reign for projects, innovative
+Excellent student-teacher relationships
+Near Boston for internships</p>
<p>-Extremely small campus, cabin fever
-Poorly ranked (95th vs 37th)
-Only engineers there, no chance to interact w/ other majors
-66% male, 33% female
-Not very well-known
-Desolate surrounding city, nothing to do
-Intense scheduling with quarter sytem</p>
<hr>
<p>-U of R-</p>
<p>+More logical choice
+Highly Ranked
+More than just engineering, get to meet different majors
+Larger campus
+Better reputation
+High per-student engineering expenditure
+Good male/female ratio
+Slightly closer to home (Chicago)</p>
<p>-Very Expensive! (10k/yr vs WPI's 16k/yr plus tuition is 7k/yr more
-Slightly intimidating
-Bad weather
-Very specialized engineering (not interested in optics)
-Very few internship opportunities in Rochester
-Uptight, competitive, rigid, lacks WPI quirkiness
-Have heard teachers are offhand, more devoter to personal research
-Don't feel as personally inspired there</p>
<p>What do you think? Personal experiences from students or alumni with some examples of how they felt when they started out and of course just plain insightful advice very much appreciated!!</p>
<p>I’ve spent time discussing WPI in other circumstances but not versus UR. </p>
<p>You do a good job of describing WPI: small, all engineering, team methods, etc. I can’t speak to how well you describe UR because I don’t know much about the engineering program. Though I would say the weather in Worcester is about the same as in Rochester.</p>
<p>I don’t know how much the money difference means to you and your family. Or how much you value a diverse university. Those to me are the keys in what you write.</p>
<p>Not that weather should be a tie breaker, but Rochester is #11 on the list of cities with the greatest snowfall (92.3 inches), while Worcester is “only” #22 with 67.2 inches per year.
In either case, the winter sucks unless you like winter sports.
If I were you I would think about how committed you are to engineering. If you think there is a reasonable chance you would want to pursue a liberal arts major, then Rochester is the better pick.
I wouldn’t over-analyze where they sit on US News rankings. WPI is well-known and well-respected in the engineering community, i.e. the people who will hire you. Take a look at WPI’s career fair lists and see how many national companies recruit there. </p>
<p>You will get an excellent engineering education at either one, but which curriculum appeals to you the most?</p>
<p>Where do you want to spend the next 4 or 5 years of your life? That’s the big question!</p>
<p>We live SW of Boston, and we’ve had more snow the last few winters than Rochester. The big difference is the constant gray skies of a Rochester winter due to the lake.</p>
<p>I just visited WPI as a College Counselor. I was very impressed! I do think that you might get more one-on-one contact with engineering Professors at WPI. If, however, you want to take courses in other subjects Rochester might be the best fit. WPI has a strong business program in addition to engineering, but they aren’t as strong as Rochester in my estimation in the social sciences (economics, political science) and humanities. WPI also is predominantly male whereas Rochester is almost 50/50.</p>